The reading list below is intended to provide a guide to the kinds of reading necessary in the completion of the M.Div course at WPTS. The aim is to provide a list of key works across the disciplines of Theology.
While the course will not be taught assuming prior knowledge of these works, it will nevertheless be immensely helpful for prospective students to begin reading some of the key texts across the various branches of the course syllabus.
BIBLE CONTENT AND INTERPRETATION
- Edmund Clowney, The Unfolding Mystery (P&R)
- Dale Ralph Davis, The Word Became Fresh (Christian Focus)
- Dan McCartney and Charles Clayton, Let the Reader Understand (Bridge Point)
- David L McKay, The Bond of Love: God’s Covenantal Relationship with His Church (Christian Focus)
- Gerhardus Vos, Biblical Theology (Banner of Truth)
- Dennis Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb: A Commentary on Revelation (P&R)
REFORMED CONFESSIONS AND CATECHISMS
- Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms; Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confession, Canons of Dort
- Kevin Bidwell (Editor), The Westminster Standards For Today: Recovering the Church and Worship for Everyday Christian Living (Evangelical Press)
- Chad van Dixhoorn, Confessing the Faith (Banner of Truth)
- R. Scott Clark, Recovering the Reformed Confession (P&R)
- R.C. Sproul, Truths We Confess: A Systematic Exposition of the Westminster Confession of Faith, (Ligonier)
- A. A. Hodge, The Confession of Faith (Banner of Truth)
- Zacharius Ursinus, Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism (P&R)
THEOLOGY
- B. B. Warfield, The Plan of Salvation (Wipf and Stock)
- John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2 vols.
- Francis Turretin, Institutes of Elenctic Theology, 3 vols. (P&R)
- Louis Berkhof, Introduction to Theology (Eerdmans)
- Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Eerdmans)
- Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, 4 vols. (Baker)
CHURCH HISTORY
- W. Robert Godfrey, Reformation Sketches (P&R)
- W. Robert Godfrey, A Survey of Church of Church History, Parts 1-6, Ligonier Teaching Series. Available for free here
- Nick Needham, 2000 Years of Christ’s Power (Grace Publications)
CALLING AND SPIRITUAL GROWTH
- J.I. Packer, Knowing God (IVP)
- Edmund Clowney, Called to the Ministry (P&R)
- Charles Bridges, Christian Ministry (Banner of Truth)
- Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students (Christian Heritage)
- Ian Hamilton, The Gospel Shaped Life (Banner of Truth)
PREACHING, WORSHIP AND THE CHURCH
- Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers (Zondervan)
- Edmund Clowney, The Church (IVP)
- Samuel Logan, ed., The Preacher and Preaching (P&R)
EVANGELISM AND MISSIONS
- Ernest Reisinger, Today’s Evangelism: Its Message and Methods (P&R)
- J. I. Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God (IVP)
- R.B. Kuyper, God-Centered Evangelism (Banner of Truth)
- John Piper, Let the Nations be Glad (Baker)
CHRISTIAN COUNSELLING
- David Powlison, Seeing With New Eyes: Counseling and the Human Condition through the Lens of Scripture (P&R)
- John MacArthur and Wayne Mack, Introduction to Biblical Counseling (W Publishing Group)
- Alfred Poirier, The Peacemaking Pastor: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Church Conflict (Baker)
CONTEMPORARY CULTURAL ISSUES
- J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and Liberalism (Eerdmans)
- David Wells, God in the Wasteland (IVP)
- John Piper and Wayne Grudem, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (Crossway)
RESEARCH AND WRITING SKILLS
- William Strunk and E. B. White, The Elements of Style (Allyn and Bacon)
- Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren, How to Read a Book (Simon and Schuster)
- William Zinsser, On Writing Well (Quill Press)
- Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (University of Chicago)